Jan 09, 2020 (LBO) – Foreign Ministers of China & Russia will meet their Sri Lankan counterpart during a transit visit to the country next week, Ministry of Foreign Relations revealed.
Accordingly, visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov will hold a bilateral meeting and a joint media conference with Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Foreign Relations on 14 January 2020.
Visiting State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi will have a courtesy call on Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Ministry on the same day.
According to China‘s Xinhua news agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on a phone call over the weekend, shortly after the US strike on Soleimani.
China and Russia have coordinated their response to the US strike on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq earlier this month at the United Nations.
Both countries, permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with veto power over resolutions, have coordinated directly in the aftermath.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump addressed the nation at the White House on Wednesday declaring readiness to "embrace peace" with Iran and also saying that US citizens were not hurt in Iran’s missile strike on military bases in Iraq.
Trump vowed to slap new sanctions against Iran in response to the attack. His speech was aimed at reducing tensions in the region and avoiding direct military confrontation with Iran, experts said.